EUYO SPRING TOUR 2012 - SWITZERLAND AND THE USA

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THE EUYO'S SPRING TOUR TAKES THE ORCHESTRA TO SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST REVERED VENUES, INCLUDING CARNEGIE HALL IN NEW YORK, THE KENNEDY CENTER IN WASHINGTON DC, AND SYMPHONY HALL IN BOSTON. UNDER THE BATON OF MAESTRO ASHKENAZY, THE ORCHESTRA WILL PERFORM

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alliances that take you farther delta klm air france and alitalia are proud to support the european union youth orchestra as the euyo spring tour 2012 official airline partners as the industry s leading trans-atlantic joint venture an exceptional partnership that flies to all of europe and north america we are delighted to bring together the best young european musicians with some of the world s most famous soloists for this exclusive tour to the united states like us the orchestra transcends cultural boundaries and performs all over the world to the highest international standards delta klm air france and alitalia are able to offer you greater service and convenience via the world s largest trans-atlantic network nearly 250 daily flights across the atlantic and service to almost 500 destinations in europe and north america and you benefit from harmonized ground and in-flight services competitive fares dedicated reservation centers and access to a worldwide airport lounge network plus your travels are more rewarding with upgrade and mileage earning and redemption opportunities through the delta skymiles air france and klm flying blue and alitalia millemiglia frequent flyer programs so whether jet-setting for business or pleasure delta klm air france and alitalia are here to serve you with more flights to more destinations in europe and north america.

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messages of goodwill josÉ manuel barroso president of the european commission head of the euyo s honorary patrons in the challenging times which europe is living through today the european union youth orchestra is a reminder of the common values and shared heritage which transcends our day to day concerns this orchestra symbolises much of what is good about the european union it brings together members from across the eu united by the vibrancy of youth and the passion for excellence the spring tour to the united states acts as a reminder that despite our geographic distance our two unions share many values more than this the relationship between the european union and the united states is based on our similarities and enriched by our differences it is therefore fitting that the programme features the work of aaron copland who brought together a european heritage with american themes to create the soundtrack of a country music is one of my great personal passions and for this reason i am honoured to be a patron of the orchestra i wish it every success on this tour and beyond herman van rompuy president of the european council it is with great pleasure that i lend my support to the european union youth orchestra for their tour to the united states of america this april if the union can seem to many like an abstract idea there is perhaps no greater way of illustrating the european ideal of collaboration for the greater good than through this gathering of young musicians from 27 countries europe has been facing difficult times but it is only through coming together in harmony that we are able to face the challenges ahead i am particularly pleased to note that our young musicians will play side-byside with their american peers reflecting a genuine partnership between europe and america that has stood and will continue to stand the test of time i have no doubt that audiences will come away from these concerts both exhilarated and filled with a renewed sense of hope in our common future and i wish the musicians of the euyo every success androulla vassiliou commissioner for education culture multilingualism and youth it is excellent news that the european union youth orchestra s spring tour of the united states will take our young musicians to perform under the direction of vladimir ashkenazy with some of the world s best musicians in a number of prestigious venues it is an opportunity for audiences across the atlantic to enjoy european culture at its best and for our young artists to perform with american musicians an experience which will no doubt enrich both the youth orchestra brings together gifted young musicians from all over europe their talent dedication and hard work transcend all boundaries in the pursuit of common excellence it is a fine example of the values on which the european union is built and which we share with our american friends the european union could not wish for better goodwill ambassadors than the youth orchestra and i wish them every success on their american tour 4

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president of the european parliament honorary president of the euyo once again the european union youth orchestra is to be applauded for putting together an intense programme of exceptional quality for its spring 2012 tour in the united states with concerts between 13 and 24 of april in washington dc new york and boston as well as in leading american universities in chapel hill bloomington and evanston photo milutin rajkovic kaktus martin schulz the enthusiastic and highly talented young musicians who make up the euyo come together from the four corners of the european union working as one to achieve such harmony these young people are the very embodiment of the motto of the european union united in diversity so similar to the us motto e pluribus unum over the years the european union youth orchestra has brought great pleasure to many people all over europe and beyond its shores it has also helped raise awareness of europe s common cultural heritage which is also america s thereby forging links and strengthening bonds between people across both the union and the atlantic it is therefore with great pleasure that i take on the role of honorary president of the euyo as my predecessors in office have done although regrettably i am unable to join the orchestra at any stop along its 2012 spring tour i would like to express my sincere thanks to each and every member of the euyo for the orchestra s unique contribution to the union s goals and to wish you all a very successful tour photo by zachary franklin at china files high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy vice-president of the european commission i am delighted to offer my support to the european union youth orchestra for its april tour of the united states i look forward to the orchestra bringing its great talent to new audiences as it celebrates the transatlantic partnership and projects the very best of europe in venues across america the orchestra has deservedly established a top-class reputation throughout europe and beyond the us is one of our key strategic partners in foreign policy so i am particularly pleased that the orchestra will be performing in some of america s most prestigious venues and with some of the world s greatest soloists i wish the orchestra every success on this tour and everyone who attends the performances a very enjoyable evening catherine ashton 5

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an overture t foundation of the euyo above vladimir ashkenazy berlin 2009 far right sir bernard haitink luxembourg 1995 he european union youth orchestra is one of the world s most prestigious and dynamic orchestras it unites europe s most talented young musicians from all 27 eu countries under some of the world s most famous conductors in an orchestra that transcends cultural boundaries and performs all over the world the musical ability and commitment demanded of the players combined with the renowned musical leadership of its conductors has won the euyo an outstanding musical and educational reputation and regular comparisons with the world s finest orchestras the orchestra is composed of up to 140 players who are drawn from all 27 member countries of the european union the players are selected each year from thousands of candidates aged between 14 and 24 who take part in auditions throughout the eu the competition is such that current members of the orchestra have to re-audition along with new applicants each year in order to keep their places once the members have been selected for the year they are invited to join the euyo in spring and summer for intensive residential rehearsal periods followed by demanding tours offering them the opportunity to perform on international stages all over the world the euyo provides an invaluable professional development experience for young orchestral musicians it is an unparalled advanced training opportunity for musicians to bridge the gap between music colleges and the cosmopolitan professional music world over 90 of euyo players go on to become professional musicians and many have found jobs with europe s leading orchestras the euyo was founded in 1976 by the late lionel bryer and joy bryer respectively the founding chairman and secretary general of the international youth foundation of great britain with a view to creating an orchestra that would represent the european ideal of a community working together to achieve peace social and cultural understanding the proposal for the creation of the orchestra was put to the committee on cultural affairs and youth of the european parliament in 1974 as a result of an all-party effort a resolution was adopted by the european parliament with an overwhelming majority on 8 march 1976 and the european commission officially confirmed the patronage of the orchestra in april 1976 claudio abbado the orchestra s founding music director established the euyo as a world-class institution with the support of the late sir edward heath kg the euyo s first president claudio abbado was succeeded as music director by sir bernard haitink who in turn was succeeded in 2000 by the euyo s present music director vladimir ashkenazy since its inaugural tour the orchestra has gone from strength to strength and continues to attract incredibly gifted players and world class conductors performing to full houses in all the major cities concert halls and festivals of europe as well as undertaking important tours to destinations which have included china hong kong japan india north and south america kazakhstan and russia in recognition of the orchestra s achievements prizes awarded to the euyo include the olympia prize of the alexander s onassis public benefit foundation the `prix d initiative européenne the grant for young artists awarded by the praemium imperiale and the european media prize 8 photo by kai bienert

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looking ahead to the 2012 ­ 13 season the orchestra s eminent tutors drawn from the uk netherlands malta germany and austria will join the orchestra again in summer returning to the euyo s regular home in bolzano italy up to 130 players will prepare a chamber programme and two orchestral programmes the first orchestral project will be a new venture for the euyo a film music programme conducted by dirk brossé artistic director of the international film festival in ghent a film composer conductor embracing scores from over 60 years of cinema and great classical works adopted by the movies this programme opens in bolzano then tours to the konzerthaus in berlin for young euro classic grafenegg summer music austria and kultursommer nordhessen in kassel germany for the second half of our tour we will welcome back gianandrea noseda the italian maestro with our tour soloist pianist garrick ohlsson who will perform the mighty busoni concerto inspired by danish writer oehlenschläger s verse drama aladdin again drawing upon great literature our third work by strauss this year will be also sprach zarathustra from friedrich nietzsche s influential novel other great repertoire to be performed includes debussy s nocturnes and respighi s feste romane the euyo will tour with noseda from bolzano to the amsterdam concertgebouw as part of robeco summer concerts the usher hall as part of the edinburgh international festival darmstadt germany the stresa international festival and finally rimini s sagra musicale malatestiana italy notable soloists who have worked with the euyo emanuel ax teresa berganza kyung-wha chung plácido domingo sir james galway barbara hendricks janine jansen nigel kennedy radu lupu lord yehudi menuhin anne-sophie mutter jessye norman murray perahia ravi shankar euyo to perform as part of the london cultural olympiad this summer the euyo will also perform its first ever commission in celebration of the london 2012 olympics a concerto for orchestra scored for around 120 players entitled twenty-seven heavens by british composer richard causton the title comes from william blake s poem jerusalem in which he parallels aspects of his mythological world with various districts of london several of which are now part of the olympics site the twenty-seven heavens are the layers of obscurity that the individual must penetrate to see the vision of eternity an idea that has resonance for both the artist and the athlete it can also be seen to refer to the 27 nationalities represented by the euyo s musicians the piece has been commissioned as part of prs for music foundation s new music 20x12 project richard causton joined the euyo on several occasions to try out his ideas with the orchestra writing for orchestra is an absolute thrill not just because of the number of people involved but because of the variety of different colours that are available there are so many instruments and when you consider that one player might play three instruments ­ e.g a flute player might play piccolo and alto flute as well as the flute itself ­ there s an infinity of different colours that you can get but there s also this sense of an orchestra as a very big team bigger than any individual olympic team in any particular sport and there s something unique and very special about orchestral music prs for music foundation s new music 20x12 is a uk-wide commissioning programme initiated by jillian barker and david cohen and delivered in partnership with the bbc locog and nmc recordings new music 20x12 is generously supported by the following committed patrons and funders arts council england creative scotland john s cohen foundation prs for music foundation arts council of northern ireland arts some past euyo guest conductors daniel barenboim leonard bernstein herbert blomstedt james conlon sir colin davis sir john eliot gardiner carlo maria giulini paavo järvi herbert von karajan gianandrea noseda mstislav rostropovich sir georg solti council of wales columbia foundation fund of the capital community foundation incorporated society of musicians musicians benevolent fund jerwood charitable foundation rvw trust charlotte and dennis stevenson tolkien trust the leche trust the bliss trust finzi trust the worshipful company of musicians lilian slowe john and ann tusa john wates charitable trust richard walduck honeymead arts trust and sir anthony cleaver special thanks to the rvw trust for making this new music 20x12 commission possible and also to the britten-pears foundation for its generous support see www.prsformusicfoundation.com for more information 9

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message from joy bryer portrait by kurosh davis and secretary general euyo co-founder d ear friends as a bostonian who has lived in europe for 55 years i am filled with immense pride in welcoming you to our concerts performed by the european union youth orchestra to celebrate the transatlantic partnership i am passionately dedicated and have been for over 40 years to making great music and i also fervently believe that culture plays a vital role in promoting international understanding and cross-border cooperation this tour bringing together two great continents has as its heart the concept of dialogue which is why we are so thrilled that fifteen young american musicians along with two great university choirs will be making music alongside our young european musicians i am also delighted that the euyo will engage in a number of activities while they are in the united states ­ from smaller chamber concerts to social gatherings as well as workshops in high schools all of which aim to take our glorious music out of the confines of the concert halls ­ however magnificent ­ and into the wider world indeed this spring we can be said to move mountains from our rehearsals overlooking the jungfrau in interlaken switzerland we prepare ourselves for the day-long climb depicted by richard strauss in the tour s core work the alpine symphony with its vast orchestral and technical challenges it is rarely seen on concert platforms but it is just the showcase work for the euyo to take on our long-overdue return to the usa the repertoire to complement this features an emblematic overture by one of america s most distinctive composers who honed his craft in the heart of europe we also embrace choral works and instrumental concerti with some of the world s very greatest virtuosi in interlaken we work with young soloists ­ vilde frang and khatia buniatishvili ­ who are already making a name on the international circuit in america we are privileged to work with soloists who are established legends both in their own country and worldwide i am extremely proud to welcome to the euyo family maestri perlman zukerman and bronfman who i am sure will inspire our young musicians to reach the very greatest musical heights i am also thrilled that our beloved and inspirational music director vladimir ashkenazy will be working with us his love for young musicians is phenomenal none of our performances would be possible without the very considerable support from a wide range of institutions companies and individuals i am absolutely delighted that we return to interlaken a favourite city of the orchestra for our rehearsal residency at the beginning of our tour i wish to highlight the immense financial generosity of interlaken classics in hosting us for two weeks rehearsals and three concerts it is my great pleasure to thank them for their belief in our aims and ideals their hospitality and unbounded enthusiasm for the young musicians are a source of great inspiration this monumental tour would have not been possible to organise without the commitment and hard work of his excellency ambassador joão vale de almeida and his staff at the delegation of the european union to the united states in washington they were gracious obliging and extremely helpful during our months of preparation i am deeply indebted to our partners for this project ­ the british council and the friends of the british council ­ for their support commitment and dedication and i would sincerely like to thank each and every one of their staff for their tireless work to our patrons the heads of state and prime ministers of the 27 eu member states our honorary and administrative committees we also owe a debt 10

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of gratitude i am most grateful to commissioner vassiliou her directorate general of the european commission oversees the culture grant from which we receive significant funding and our president martin schulz whose support and encouragement are fundamental to our working life i cannot thank both the commission and parliament enough in praise of our official airline partners by far the greatest costs involved in our international tours relate to transportation particularly since the euyo is rather larger than most professional symphony orchestras so it is with true gratitude that i salute our extraordinary official airline partners ­ delta klm air france and alitalia ­ who like the orchestra work together with great passion in order to perform to the highest standards they are the leading transatlantic joint venture and without this exceptional partnership our tour to the united states would simply not have been possible i have always believed that the public and private sector are natural partners working together with the arts to help them thrive and flourish i therefore applaud our airline partners for their commitment to investing in young people truly society s greatest asset and believing as we do that cooperation between companies and nations will produce a healthy economy in a peaceful global world this tour for me is a beacon of light ­ a culmination of everything that i dreamt of achieving and in my 81st year i feel great happiness in having learnt that courage tolerance and selflessness are the ideals we must continue to strive for to borrow beethoven s verse ­ let peace and joy advance in perfect concord the very message that the euyo has been expounding since its foundation i wish you all a wonderful performance and hope that you will continue to follow the euyo s progress long after the last note has sounded above joy bryer with former president of france jacques chirac and the late sir edward heath the euyo s first president at a reception at the elysée palace in paris in 1978 euyo s first year of touring left hm queen beatrix of the netherlands with joy bryer jac van steen and members of the euyo at the amsterdam concertgebouw 2011 photo by erik veenhuizen 11

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photo by sasha gusov/decca vladimir ashkenazy o euyo music director ne of the few artists who has combined a successful career as a pianist and conductor russian-born vladimir ashkenazy inherited his musical gift from both sides of his family his father david ashkenazy was a professional light music pianist and his mother evstolia née plotnova was daughter of a chorus master in the russian orthodox church ashkenazy first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 chopin competition in warsaw and as first prize winner of the queen elisabeth competition in brussels in 1956 since then he has built an extraordinary career not only as one of the most outstanding pianists of the 20th century but as an artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities and continues to offer inspiration to music-lovers across the world conducting has formed the largest part of his activities for the past 20 years he took up the new position of principal conductor and artistic advisor to the sydney symphony in january 2009 and collaborates with them on extensive recording projects and international touring activities each year he has previously held posts as chief conductor of the czech philharmonic orchestra and music director of nhk symphony orchestra in tokyo alongside these positions ashkenazy continues his long-standing relationship with the philharmonia orchestra of which he was appointed conductor laureate in 2000 in addition to his performances with the orchestra in london and around the uk each season he tours with them worldwide ­ most recently to china and korea ­ and has developed landmark projects such as `prokofiev and shostakovich under stalin in 2003 a project which he also took to cologne new york vienna and moscow and `rachmaninoff revisited which was reprised in paris in october 2010 ashkenazy also holds the position of music director of the european union youth orchestra since 2000 with which he tours each year and conductor laureate of the iceland symphony orchestra and the nhk symphony orchestra he maintains strong links with a number of other major orchestras with which he has built special relationships over the years including the cleveland orchestra of which he was formerly principal guest conductor and deutsches symphonie-orchester berlin chief conductor and music director 1988-96 as well as making guest appearances with many other major orchestras around the world while conducting takes up a significant portion of his time each season ashkenazy maintains his devotion to the piano ­ these days mostly in the recording studio ­ where he continues to build his extraordinarily comprehensive recording catalogue with releases such as the 1999 grammy award-winning shostakovich preludes and fugues rautavaara s piano concerto no 3 a work which he commissioned bach s wohltemperierte klavier rachmaninov s transcriptions and beethoven s diabelli variations his most recent solo release is a disc of bach partitas a recording of french works for piano duo with vovka ashkenazy was released in august 2009 to great critical acclaim and the duo gave a series of concerts in japan and south korea in autumn 2011 beyond his performing schedule ashkenazy continues to be involved in some fascinating tv projects often inspired by his passionate drive to ensure that serious music continues to have a platform in the mainstream media and is made available to as broad an audience as possible among these are his programmes with the outstanding director christopher nupen as well as 1979 s `music after mao filmed in shanghai and the acclaimed `ashkenazy in moscow programmes which marked his first visit in 1989 to the country of his birth since leaving the ussr in the 1960s more recently he has developed educational programmes with nhk tv including the 1999 `superteachers working with inner-city london school children and in 2003-04 a documentary based around his `prokofiev and shostakovich under stalin project 13

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khatia buniatishvili born in 1987 in tbilisi georgian pianist khatia buniatishvili gave her début performance as soloist with an orchestra at the age of six and was subsequently invited to give guest performances in switzerland the netherlands france germany belgium italy austria russia israel and the usa during her studies at tbilisi s state conservatoire buniatishvili won a special prize at the horowitz international competition for young pianists in kiev in 2003 as well as first prize at the foundation to assist young georgian musicians competition set up by elisabeth leonskaya that year she transferred to vienna s university of music and performing arts winner of the bronze medal at the 12th arthur rubinstein piano master competition in 2008 she was also named best performer of a chopin piece and audience favourite buniatishvili has given critically acclaimed solo recitals and chamber music vilde frang vilde frang is the recipient of the 2012 credit suisse young artists award and will perform with the vienna philharmonic and bernard haitink at the lucerne summer music festival in september 2012 noted for her superb musical expression and her well-developed virtuosity and musicality frang has established herself as one of the leading young violinists of her generation since she was engaged by mariss jansons at the age of twelve to début with the oslo philharmonic orchestra highlights among her forthcoming and recent engagements include performances with the mahler chamber orchestra bbc symphony philharmonia tonhalleorchester zurich nhk symphony in tokyo with conductors including vladimir ashkenazy paavo järvi mariss jansons esa-pekka salonen gianandrea noseda and daniel harding her concerto recording début as emi classics young artist of the year 2010 received the edison klassiek award and a classic brit award for best newcomer her most recent recital recording was selected as `editor s choice by classic fm magazine and `diapason d or by diapason magazine and was awarded the echo klassik award frang appears as a recitalist and chamber musician at festivals across europe amongst her collaborators were gidon kremer yuri bashmet martha argerich julian rachlin leif ove andsnes and maxim vengerov and together with anne-sophie mutter she has toured in europe and the us playing bach s double concerto with camerata salzburg born in 1986 in norway frang has studied at the barratt due music institute in oslo with kolja blacher at musikhochschule hamburg and ana chumachenco at the kronberg academy she plays a jean-baptiste vuillaume violin lent by the anne-sophie mutter freundeskreis stiftung concerts at such renowned venues as london s wigmore hall amsterdam s concertgebouw and the musikverein in vienna in 2008 she made her us début at carnegie hall performing chopin s second piano concerto a bbc radio 3 new generation artist for 2009-2011 in 2010 she received a borletti-buitoni trust award and has been nominated by vienna s musikverein and konzerthaus as a rising star for the 2011/2012 season forthcoming engagements include performances with the san francisco symphony orchestra the orchestre de paris and the munich philharmonic with paavo järvi recitals will also take her to berlin vienna amsterdam paris and the wigmore hall in london with further appearances at amongst other venues the verbier festival the lucerne festival and the schwetzinger musiktage 15